New and Old Enemies
by Ha'Driana
Summary: Blade finds himself thrust into the vampire underground with no real hope for survival. Who has enough heart to help him out? One person, but can he really trust her?
1. Doorstep

Ha'Dre looked at the vampire before her, no not vampire, hybrid of vampire and human. She had heard to this one, he hunts vampires even though he is not the slayer. She had come to find him, to warn him, to save his life if she could. The question was: Would he let her? 

"Who are you?" he asked her, his sword ready to attack. '

She had cornered him after a kill of another vampire that he had hunted all night. It was almost morning now. She could see the exhaustion in him, but feel the determination emanating from him as well. "People have been calling me Ha'Dre for centuries, you may use that name, Blade," she stated softly, making raise an eyebrow in surprise. "I warn you hunter, if you are thinking to slay me, you will fail. I mean no harm to you or the people of this city." It was a standard warning that she gave everyone, just to say that she had warned them.

Blade almost chuckled, not really believing what she had just said. "Yeah right, why should I trust you?"

The woman smiled. "I could ask you the same thing now couldn't I, vampire?"

Blade contemplated her words as he eyed her warily. "I'm not a full blown vampire. Your people call me Day-walker," he replied, testing the woman's mettle. 

Ha'Dre kept on smiling. "I am not a full blood vampire either. I am also part werewolf." She made her way closer to him however still not within reach of his sword. She wasn't afraid of him, she was pretty sure that she was faster but she didn't need to test fate. "I personally prefer either sunrise or sunset though."

The Day-Walker stared at her somewhat confused but recovered quickly. "Who sent you? What do you want?" 

"I work for no one, Blade. The only thing that drives me is this." Her hand went to the medallion around her neck. It held part of a red gem that almost leaked blood. What was odd about it was that it was partially broken. 

"Kinda open for a vamp, aren't you?"

"Yes, sometimes too open for my own good but hey, I've lived this long, so I guess I'm doing something right, huh?" Her nose picked out something in the air, something that should not have been there, that's when she saw him; a vampire behind Blade ready to go in for the kill. Before anyone knew what happened, the vampire was disintegrating over her, the dust falling at her feet. When she realized she had pushed Blade out of the way and had killed his would-be attacker, she felt a pain in her stomach. Her gaze drifted down to see the Day-walker's sword lodged in her stomach. Ha'Dre saw a hand yank the sword from her body and Blade kneeling at her side as she sank down to her knees.

"Did you know him?" the man beside her asked urgently. "Tell me!" he ordered as his fingers threaded through her short silver-brown hair to pull her head back.

"No, no." Her voice weak, she didn't seem to be able to recover that's when she made the connection. His sword was made with silver, her deadliest enemy. Her eyes closed as she tried to concentrate on Blade asking if it was of her doing. "He was sent by Dragen to kill you. All the vampires are after you. I came here to warn you, to give you a chance…" she passed out soon after though it wasn't a blow that would kill her instantly, it would mean her death in the end, she was after all, highly allergic to silver. 

The Day-walker studied the woman for a moment, not quite sure what to do. Who was this Dragen? And why had this hybrid decided to intervene? The questions bubbled up inside of him as he picked up her and brought her to his car. Maybe he could do something for her and hope against hope that she would survive long enough to help her. 

A few hours later, Ha'Dre was bandaged up, though Blade wasn't sure she would survive. He didn't know much about her actually, but he still had to try. It could just mean his own survival. The Day-walker knew what his mentor would have told him, "What are you doing? Bringing home a blood sucking bitch?" But something about her spoke to him like none other had. Maybe it was her eyes, or the fact that they shared something in common when it came down to their genetics. Whatever it was, he had better things to do than think it over. 

He had to find out what Dragen wanted and maybe who this woman really was. After making sure she wasn't going to go anywhere, he made his way into town. Maybe one of his snitches knew something.


	2. Plans

"What in the Devil's name happened?" demanded Dragen as he received the news of his now dead minion. His slightly long nails rapped upon the tinted glass surface. The rest of the council appeared agitated for some reason. A reason Dragen was sure he would not like. "Well?" 

A few moments passed, during which men and women vampires exchanged worried glances. Dragen slammed his fist onto the table to scare someone into talking. Everyone jumped and one spoke up, "Ha'Drianna Caytrin Amasta." 

The name rang out into pure silence. The tension was palatable as Dragen's face contorted into an expression of total revulsion. The head vampire's gaze went from one person to the next until he had made eye contact with everyone in the room. His rage was obviously building to something that no one really wanted to see, though they really did not have much of a choice in the matter. "I have a lock of her hair, the dust of her wretched body and the sacred amulet of her ancestors. Are you telling me she lives?" Dragen's voice escalated as he kept on talking. "Who supposedly killed the hybrid? Tell me! Who is the son of a bitch who screwed up?" His fist once again connected with the table, making all the glasses of water upon it tremble.

"The pureblood, Gareth," a bold one said, though the vampire did not show himself presumably to keep his head. All present knew that Gareth's name should have never been spoken; it was a sensitive subject within the whole Vampire Nation. Gareth had been a promising young vampire, which happened to be Dragen's son as well. "Rumors have it that the two were lovers and that he never killed her. But both disappeared 250 years ago." The hurried explanation was enough to shed light on the failure. Ha'Drianna was a woman of great strength and one that everyone had learned never to cross. Some people thought that she had some magical attributes, but over the years and news of her death, people started doubting her existence. However, the situation seemed to show something different.

"Bring me the Day-walker. I want him alive and in shape to fight. Bring his arsenal as well. He will be fighting in the Kumite." Gasps of surprise resounded throughout the room. None could believe what their leader had told them, not that they could believe the hybrid was alive either. "Do it!" Dragen's voice ordered them, their fear enough to make them all jump up and walk, more like run, out.

The remaining vampire, Dragen, ran a hand threw his hair. "Ha'Dre, you are back to haunt me once again. But this time, you won't survive the encounter." The threatening tone of his voice could have sent a chill down anyone's spine, but even Dragen felt like the threat was empty. He had tried too many times and failed to believe that this time would be any different.


	3. Mysteries

Blade slammed his informant against a nearby wall. The Day-walker was not happy, no not happy at all. "Now tell me what I want to know."

The man was shaking uncontrollably out of pure fright it seemed. "Dragen wants you dead because you killed the Blood God. His men are going to hunt you down till you are dead," he whispered despite Blade's fingers clamped down on his neck, holding him to the wall.

Blade smirked, another head honcho who thought he could get right of the day-walker so easily. "Okay, now tell me about Ha'Dre."

The man shook even more at the mention of the woman's name. "I may be afraid of you, Blade but you are a clawless pussy cat compared to her. Anyone who isn't afraid of the devil should be afraid of her." The informant was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor and seconds later, Blade was in his car and driving at break-neck speed back to his home where the woman lay. 

Blade watched Ha'Dre's sleeping form. He found it hard to believe everything said about the woman. He couldn't really wrap his mind around the possibility of truly being afraid of the woman. As he was thinking deeply about the facts he had gathered, the woman stirred and a moment later her eyes finally opened to reveal yellow-green irises. They settled on him with a cold stare. "How long have I been out?"

A grin spread across his lips as he saw no movement in her wrists nor did she glance up at anything else. Her eyes were fixed on his, showing no distress or panic. "A few hours. Now, you are going to tell me why you were there. It's not everyday that one is saved by an enemy."

"I was there to warn you and to find out why you are on my territory. And I am not your enemy," she stated, her voice piercing cold as her eyes bore into his. "May I know why you have bound my wrists?"

Blade did not dare blink. This hybrid was something more than she put on. This woman, vampire hybrid whatever she was, had survived a few centuries without any real scraps, which was something to be said. She hadn't surfaced in years and now all of a sudden she was there standing on his doormat claiming to be a friend. He found it hard to believe her. "Just watching my ass…"

"Get fried," she interrupted for him, her tone taking on that of a teacher berating a child. He gave her a puzzled look. "By keeping me here and making sure I can't harm anyone, you sealed your fate. They have come for you and I cannot help you. Die well day-walker. May the night spirits be forgiving tonight on your tortured soul." Her eyes bore an intensity that he had never seen before. Her words struck his core like his defenses did not even exist. What could she be talking about?

"You sound like a pro-" he started and before he could finish the sentence, the alarm went off signaling that he had some intruders. He stood quickly and drew his sword. "If you have anything to do with this…" he left the threat hanging and took off to meet his guests, leaving the hybrid to fend for herself.


	4. Uninvited Guests

Blade met the intruders head on. He even managed to kill a few before more came but in the end, there were too many and they were all too determined to take him down. He finally fell, after a good fight. The vampires sneered at him, proud of themselves for taking down the slayer. The leader of the band told a few to go looking for Ha'Dre, maybe hoping to take the woman in and be rewarded for the deed. It didn't take them long to have gone through the whole warehouse and figure out that she wasn't there. The Day-walker growled under his breath, angry that the woman was not going to share his fate with him. His thoughts were interrupted by a needle piercing his skin. He struggled against the binds but his strength drained and his mind followed. He drifted into the world of darkness that only his mind could create. 

The day-walker woke up in a dark cell, sprawled out on the floor. The cell stank of sweat and fear. He could see nothing but a slit of light from the base of the door. The light caught on a bowl of food on the floor. It looked like…. soup? He sat up, reached for the bowl and sniffed at it carefully. His stomach grumbled its need for nutrition. Blade was hesitant to try it just because vampires had left it there. Would they feed him poison if they wanted him dead? He highly doubted they would. There was a reason why they were keeping him alive and he wanted to be in shape to fight them to his last ounce of strength when they did. With that thought in mind, he drank down the soup greedily, even though it was cold.

Dragen grinned as he watched the videotape of the camera in Blade's cell. The day-walker had been busy during his weeks in captivity. He had had no close contact with anyone so he busied himself with building up his speed and strength. He spent countless hours meditating and working on his combat techniques. Even Dragen had to admit that the slayer had done much better in captivity than he had anticipated but the slayers strength only enforced his thoughts of a great battle. A grin came to his lips at the thought of the surprise he had in store for the man. 

The grinning pureblood turned away from the day-walker's image to the vampire that was in charge of organizing the fight. The head-vampire wanted everything ready and perfect for the battle. 

"Everything is in order I trust," asked Dragen, he actually already knew that it was ready, he just wanted to hear it from the lower-vampire so that the other could take the blame if something did go wrong. 

"Yes, sir," the other replied, his voice filled with pride. "The fighters are all in perfect shape. The security measures are in place. We need only twenty-four hours notice and we will be ready."

Dragen gave an evil smile and licked his lips in delight. "Start it. I want to see Blade fight our best warriors tomorrow night."

The vampire nodded, stood up to bow and left, all too happy to see Blade die by the hands of a noctuabundus. Sixteen centuries of battles between the best vampires would be put to shame by a single battle between the best the vampire nation could offer and the little atrocity that was the day-walker.


	5. Trapped

Blade looked around him at the large open space that resembled an ancient Roman arena with a much sturdier roof than the Romans would have used. It was the most space he had seen in at least a month. The arena was large; basically a pit with high reaching walls and then started the seats for the spectators. At the center of the ring stood a pedestal with his weapons. It was almost like an invitation to fight.

"Blade," came a voice from above, however the day-walker did not react, instead he picked up his sword and examined it carefully, checking the blade for any rough edges and even looked over the trap at the handle. The voice continued, "I bet it feels good to stretch your legs. Glad to have that shave? And hair cut? Thought you might. You can thank Frost's library. It was rather extensive." There was a pause, replaced by footfalls and out of the corner of his eye, Blade saw an old looking vampire with gray hair. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Dragen. My apologizes for not being able to speak to you sooner, I was just busy organizing you ten minutes of fame in the ring."

Blade smiled and looked up at the vampire. "It's going to take longer than just ten minutes."

Dragen smirked in return and leaned over the railing around the pit. "We shall see, now won't we?" The vampire left with that question and a chuckle hanging in the air.

Blade was left there to contemplate his future. He was truly alone, no one would notice his disappearance. His hope of survival was dwindling fast and now he doubted for the first time that he would get out alive. Anger swelled within his heart. How could this happen? He wanted to blame Ha'Dre. He wanted her drive a silver stake into her heart but he could just imagine his hand coming just short of doing it. She had saved his life after all, had done nothing to harm him yet he treated her like an enemy. No, she was not his problem. He was his own problem; deep down he knew it. The man knew that had looked worse, just that this time, he didn't have a friend behind the wall or in the compound. It was almost as if every door of escape had been triple locked. 

He pushed away his thoughts of despair and concentrated on the task at hand. If he was lucky enough, he may have a chance to get his ass out of the frying pan, he just had to watch for the opening.

"Now, let's see what's here," he muttered to himself as he went back to examine his weapons.


	6. Thrust into the Fire

Blade watched the first few battles, noticing instantly that vampires were indeed killing their own. He guessed that the fight was pre-planed which ensured nothing got out of hand. That hunch only served to enforce his other revelation he had come to; that indeed he was going to die, even if it did not happen in the ring. That knowledge did nothing to comfort him so he watched in silence, contemplating the fighters and his fate.

Soon it was his turn in the ring. His opponent was a large bald vampire handling a broad sword. His name, by what Blade understood, was Dagger and for some reason the day-walker did not find that hard to believe for, beside the sword, the vampire also had many daggers. Blade felt a little lucky, considering he had seen worse on the streets. Somehow the thought of the Blood-God and his demise helped keep the slayer's morale up.

During the moments where the two sized each other up, the crowd went wild. The vampires wanted nothing more than to see Blade die by the hand of their own. Their taste for the day-walker's blood was great but it grew even more after Dagger managed to land his first swipe of his sword. The crowd however found itself very disappointed when Dagger's body turned to dust minutes later.

Blade stood in the ring and examined the people gathered. His eyes landed on Dragen, who was grinning widely and almost happy that the battle had ended favorably for the slayer. The day-walker also saw the evil in the vampire's eyes. The very evil that he had strived to kill all his life. They stared back at him with hatred yet in their depths he could also see the reverence and respect.

Something flashed just out of the corner of his eye. Blade turned quickly and scanned the space. Nothing was there, except more vampires than he liked to see in his situation. 

The next few fights became progressively harder for the day-walker. He became tired and the small wounds that he accumulated from each battle took their toll on him. He could almost see the end and for some reason dying by the hand of those vampires was not in the least bit appealing so he fought on with every ounce of strength he had. With that single thought in mind, he drove a silver stake into his opponent's heart. Out of exhaustion, the man fell to his knees, sword still in hand. The silver blade still shone in the light yet its master was too tired to lift it for one last battle.

"Getting tired, Blade?" Dragen asked tauntingly from his perch. "Have you finally given up?" The arena slowly quieted. All eyes were on the day-walker who was now a pitiful image of his former strength. Blade slowly looked up to the taunting vampire, his eyes still holding his hate yet the fire burned low in his spirit. "Yes, I see your weakness, your broken spirit. You are nothing now. Nothing and alone. No one will help you now, not even my oh-so-dear daughter-in-law." Whispers broke out but Dragen called everyone back to order with a simple lift of his hand. "Declare defeat now, before the Vampire Nation and you may live." The crowd cried out in protest but Dragen's resounding command silenced them quickly. "What do you say, day-walker?"

Blade was tempted to give in, to let everything go and finally quit. His original goal had always been to kill the vampire who had bitten his mother. He found Frost and killed him for it, not to mention his mother. Blade wondered if he could really throw in the towel. He looked up at the ceiling and moments later anger swelled within him. How could he have grown so weak? How could he give up so easily? Those questions fueled his hatred for every being in the room. His grip tightened around his sword as he closed his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but his words caught in his throat. Daughter-in-law? Could Ha'Dre have been part of the vampire ruling family? Maybe she had set the whole thing up and that is why she knew they were coming? His anger boiled over. "No!" he yelled as he stood up. His eyes locked on Dragen. "I won't stop hunting all of you mother-fuckers till every last one of you is dead. Now, bring it on!" The life of the crowd ignited as his words. They called for another battle and the day-walker's death.

Soon, Blade found himself facing another vampire with a single sword. Despite the fact that this opponent held only one weapon, Blade feared him the most just because of the look in his eyes. Blade took a fighting stance and waited for the vampire to make a move even though he could feel his newly found strength draining quickly. His opponent grinned at him and took a step forward. Blade blinked and all of a sudden he found himself flying backward into a very hard wall. A grunt escaped his lips seconds after contact and oddly enough, he didn't feel a thing when he landed on the floor face first. It took him a few seconds to find the energy to push himself up. He looked up and found the vampire in the same position yet where he previously stood. "The hell?" Blade mumbled to himself.

His opponent grinned at him. His malicious smile gave Blade cause to pause for behind that smile was more self-confidence than even the slayer had ever felt in his whole life. "Let me introduce myself properly," the vampire said, his voice colored by an old English accent. "I am known as-"

"I don't give a shit as to who you are," interjected the day-walker as he stood up on shaky legs. "Fight you asshole."

The vampire grinned and nodded. "I would not have expected anymore than that. And to say you looked so worn a few minutes ago." His grin widened for a second before he jumped forward his sword ready for a strike. 

Blade barely had time to get his sword up for the block which in reality did nothing, for the vampire just lightly touched the silver blade before moving out of the way. The day-walker blinked unable to figure out if his eyes were deceiving him or if the vampire was actually as fast as he thought he was. Blade looked at the vampire, realizing that he was playing with him. Somehow that thought just made him feel like he was the hunted and no longer the hunter. A growl escaped his lips as he charged forward ready to strike his opponent down. Moments later, a sharp pain ripped through his side yet he dismissed it and brought his sword down just to be stopped by the vampire's hand clamping around his. Blade was so close that he could smell his opponent's breath, which was none to pleasant to the nose. He was also aware of the blood trickling down his side. He didn't have to look to know that there was a sword lodged in his side. "What the hell are you?" the day-walker breathed, unable to pull himself away.

The vampire grinned evilly and leaned closer to whisper, "La Magra". The sword twisted in his side and the hand tightened with bone crushing strength. Blade tired to get away. To pull his hand out of the vampire's hand, but he was too weak to do anything or the vampire was too strong, he couldn't quite decide. "Struggle little slayer."

"I killed you," Blade whispered softly, which only managed to entertain the vampire even more. Seconds, later Blade was thrown against the wall behind him. The half-vampire grunted and looked back up. He just couldn't wrap his mind around the whole situation. "The Council pure-bloods died," was the only thing that he could cling to, to make any sense of the world around him.

"I was released, nothing you can do will change that," the vampire replied, stepping closer and leaning into Blade. "Afraid yet?" 

The vampire's eyes glowed a deep red, which died quickly as his attention was pulled away from the day-walker to something in the crowd. La Magra turned around, searching the faces. After a few minutes, he didn't appear to find what he was looking for because he shook his head and sheathed his sword. His eyes shifted to Dragen, who stood up quickly sensing that something was wrong. "You told me this place was secure," said the vampire in the arena to the other in the lookout. 


	7. Gods and Guardians

Dragen leaned onto the safety bar that separated him and the lip of the arena. His jaw tensed and his eyes bulged in anger at the interruption. "It is. Kill the day-walker."

La Magra growled a threat under his breath and looked once again around the crowd. "Come out!" he yelled out, speaking to someone whose location he obviously did not know. 

During this time, Dragen anger grew quickly. He wanted Blade dead before anything could endanger that goal but the stall somehow brought doubts of his success to mind. "Kill him," he hissed again as his grip on the bar in his hands tightened slowly to a crushing grip. "Go ahead kill him! Do it now! If you don't –"

"Don't get your shirt in a knot father-in-law," said a strong voice from the opposite side of the ring from Dragen, who looked up to see a figure dressed and cloaked in black.

"Who are you?" asked La Magra after studying the figure for a moment, but Dragen needn't ask. He already knew. The chill and arrogance mixed with the sensual tone of the illustrious creature was well known by the head vampire. "Ha'Drianna," whispered Dragen in response.

She pushed the hood of the cloak back and grinned at Dragen who, along with everyone else, felt a shiver of fear tickle his lower back. "You haven't forgotten me, father. I'm glad to hear that, considering I've been dead for how long."

Meanwhile, in the ring, Blade pushed himself off the wall and looked up to see Ha'Dre. The sight of the woman brought mixed feelings to his heart but he didn't have the luxury of thinking too much about things just because his life-blood was seeping quickly from his wound. His hand clasp his side while he mentally prepared himself for the second round, which he couldn't help hoping would be better than the first. His eyes shifted to his enemy who didn't quite figure out that the woman was not just a pretty face.

"What is your role in this?" La Magra asked, thoroughly puzzled and apprehensive about dealing with the woman. He turned to face her completely, an eyebrow cocking. "Talk woman," he ordered trying to use some kind of hypnosis on her but her gaze did not gaze did not waver, if anything it intensified to the point where everyone in the room felt as if they were already witness to a great battle of the wills. 

"Didn't anyone tell you that it is impolite to stare, my Lord?" Ha'Dre asked softly, not really loud enough for the Blood-God to hear but he still appeared to understand for his fist clenched and his eyes dropped down from her eyes to land on a red glint. "I formally take Blade's place as your opponent. You have no choice but to accept."

The vampires in the room shifted and wanted all to leave before anyone lost their head. The fear coursing through the crowd was almost palpable to the key-players of the arena. "Go," La Magra hissed to the cowards, which set off all the vampires, who left through the nearest exits. The only one's left were Dragen, a few of his men, Blade and the vampire God with Ha'Dre. "Since when do I have no choice when facing a little one such as yourself?" asked the vampire.

Ha'Dre however, did not answer; instead she leapt into the air, flipped and landed between Blade and the Blood God. She turned back towards the day-walker and threw him her cloak. "It won't take too long," said the woman before turning back to her opponent. 

"I can squish you like a bug," La Magra said, his eyes glowing a deep blood red as he unsheathed his sword. Ha'Dre mirrored his action. Her foot drifted behind her as the tip of her sword touched the ground. Her eyes drifted from the point to her opponent, challenging him to make the first move. A grin came to his lips as he charged. Before Blade could understand anything, Ha'Dre's sword split the air and connected with La Magra's own sword. The vampire blinked and put more pressure on the locked swords but found more resistance than he had anticipated. He pushed himself away from the woman to scrutinize her.

The woman grinned and arched an eyebrow as she turned to him. "I don't see any squishing," said she. "Nor do I see any bugs," she added after a moment of thought, during which the vampire examined her closely. His eyes landed on the broken medallion around her neck, which now glowed a deep blood red. His eyes traveled back up to her face and stayed there. "Now do you see, my Lord?"

The vampire took a step back, their swords unlocking instantly. His demeanor completely changed to that of someone who just realized that things were not at all in their favor. "Guardian," he whispered. "This is not your charge. I have every right to kill the –"

Ha'Dre's face slowly contorted with anger as her grip tightened on the hilt of her sword. "The day-walker is my charge just as any who stands against the vampires. You know that my Lord, do not try to tell me otherwise." Her sword whipped out to point directly to the Blood God, before he could do anything. "Face me, my Lord, or you shall face my master."

It took the vampire a moment to decide but soon his sword lifted to push her sword out of the way. The action started a chain of attacks and parries that started slowly and gradually grew into fast strikes. Soon the rhythmic clang of swords resounded throughout the arena. Both Blade and Dragen stared at the two combatants, neither of them truly able to follow the movements of the swords yet knowing that the outcome of the fight would probably decide much of their fate. 


	8. That easy?

There was a miss in the rhythm of the swords for a split second, before it continued on with its usual rhythm yet to Blade's trained ear, the miss could mean one of two things. The day-walker started to hope that Ha'Dre would somehow win and he would survive but uncertainty was a large part of his thoughts. 

Minutes went by during which the battle did not slow in the least. Attacks from both sides were becoming more and more vicious not to mention the misses were becoming more frequent but the battle was not about to end just there. 

Dragen watched with weak knees as the God fought the daughter-in-law he had thought dead long ago. His mind was a blur with questions. Why had she come back? How did she get in? What drove her to interfere with his business? Had she turned over a new leaf when centuries ago she would have been ready to kill the day-walker, just to prove she could? Or perhaps this master of hers had brought her back to life to cause him trouble? The absence of answers made him wary. The head-vampire sat down heavily in his chair and let himself sink into it as he watched the blur of movements of the battle below with almost disinterest. The old vampire's eyes drifted to Blade who stood by the side of the ring, holding his hand to his side to keep as much blood as he could from spilling. Had he not been troubled by the fight, Dragen would have licked his lips at the sight of the slayer's life-blood but he was all too worried about an outcome that he could not influence.

Another miss.

A scream.

A flash of red light.

The two combatants separated. Ha'Dre stood on one side and the Blood-God on the other. The woman was smeared in blood yet standing tall and proud. The God on the other hand held his hand to his heart, staring at the woman with dim eyes. Blood seeped from his fingers and slowly dripped down his chest. 

"I call thee to thy death God of the Blood," said the woman. The amulet around her neck glowed an angry red. Its glow slowly encompassed all of her as she made her way closer and closer to the God.

Blade stared wide-eyed. Things couldn't be that simple. He had fought this Thing before and slicing its head off didn't even phase it so how could this hybrid do it so easily? His eyes followed her movements as she walked over to her opponent and sliced off the vampire's head. There was another flash of intense red light and seconds later, there were only two people in the ring, Blade and Ha'Dre.

Dragen stood up quickly and glared at Ha'Dre half-heartedly who said something in old vampiric. The old-vampire's face changed and contorted into controlled anger.

Fifteen minutes later, Blade passed out in Ha'Dre's car as she drove them away from the arena that had kept the slayer at bay for weeks. La Magra was gone, taken care of, and Dragen now knew that his years were numbered.


	9. Deals with the Devil

Blade woke up groggy. He tried sitting up, but nausea overwhelmed his senses and made him lie back down. He tried to make sense of the battle he had witnessed and what it meant for his life. 

Someone coming into his room, which he had just realized was rather luxurious, shook him out of his thoughts. His eyes were drawn back to the woman who had entered the room with his clothing, ready to be worn again after being washed. After taking a moment to inspect her, he realized that she was just a girl. She smiled and put his clothes down on a dresser at the foot of his bed. "You are human," he said sitting up. 

"Yes, and you are the day-walker. Ha'Dre wants to see you when you are ready," she replied as she pushed a stray strand of strawberry blond hair out of the way. She turned to go but stopped at the threshold to look back at him. "She's at the top floor. Oh, and it's not an order, just that your weapons are up there." She smiled and left, leaving Blade to change.

Minutes, Blade found himself examining in the mirror. The armor was stronger yet not as bulky as his previous one and the clothes fit just like he preferred it He had to frown though. Why had the hybrid kept his weapons? A nagging little voice told him to go up there to find out so moments later he was walking onto the top floor of a very tall building, considering the number of buttons there were in the elevator he had taken up.

The slayer found a large living room with a sitting area, bar in the corner and a desk with a computer on top and a wall of windows behind it. Light streamed through the windows, the rays showering the beautiful hybrid who sat behind the desk.

Ha'Dre looked up at him and smiled. "Glad to see you up," she said standing up. She wore leather all over, except her shirt, which showed her bareback tattooed with mythic words. "I assume you only came up here for you weapons."

Blade took a few steps forward, into the direct light. The warmth of the light hit his skin but the light was too much for his eyes. He turned away only to find Ha'Dre's hand pushing a pair of sunglasses towards him. "UV blocking windows," he said when he noticed her standing in the light.

She smiled again, enticingly. "Not at all, come talk to me outside." The hybrid lead the slayer outside, onto a large patio on top of the very high building. They stood in the light of the an ending day, telling Blade that he had been out for at least a day or two when he also took into account the fact that the wound to his side was just slightly tender.

Blade watched the woman's elegant movements. She was by all standards a beautiful creature yet she was also part vampire. She turned to him, the sun warming her back. The rays of light filtered through her hair, lighting the silver strands. Her eyes stared at him with the feral tone of a wolf as her body, lean and fit, was more or less suggestive of pleasures that a man could only enjoy in his dreams. "What do you want?"

Ha'Dre smiled and crossed her arms. "I want you to work for me." She put a hand up before he could reply and continued. "I will finance your operation and in exchange, once in a while, I will ask you to kill some specific vampire."

Blade raised an eyebrow, completely incredulous. "Or what? Kill me?" He didn't think that she would kill him considering she had saved his life and now offered him a job.

Ha'Dre's smile didn't disappear nor did it change. "Probably," she replied, there was nothing really cold in her voice but he took it as a threat, he didn't have much of a choice about it. "You and I will face-off one day. It is in our blood, but for now, we may join forces and learn each other's strengths and weaknesses."

The slayer heard his heart give a double beat. He didn't know why he felt a shiver run up his spine at the thought of her prophecy. He wasn't quite sure if he could win against her and he didn't want to find out anytime soon. He knew deep down that if it was convenient for her, he would by dead by now. He swallowed and formulated his plan. "I'm going to Canada."

"Your weapons are on the bar. The secretary downstairs will have a list of vampire hot spots for you on your way out," Ha'Dre replied, knowing full well that he had accepted.

The vampire hunter left without another word, feeling like he had just jumped in bed with the Devil himself. As he was walking out of the building, he could still feel the chill of her prediction. He hoped that her prediction would never come true, but for some reason, he had a feeling it would. 

A grin came to his lips. He was going to hunt down the worse vampires to prepare for the battle. He looked up at the top floor as he left the large building. He would be ready for her, one day, just not today.


End file.
